We became a single academy trust in 2013 as an outstanding school. In September 2017 we had a bad Ofsted experience and found ourselves requiring improvement. We had already been looking at trusts we could join and with the threat of an unpleasant DFE visit, we got out there first to make our own decision.
It was really important to us that any trust we joined had shared vision and values but also recognised all the strengths we had as a school. I got into discussions with a CEO who had two schools in his trust with a third about to join. All the schools were within a 10 minute journey of each other and although serving different catchments, the values led ethos was just what we were looking for.
What impressed us most was the strength of the central team. For a small trust, so much thought had gone into the skills set of the board and central team. The CFO was a very competent accountant with experience of working for a local authority. We couldn’t find any negatives during the due diligence and we just knew it felt right.
Things moved quickly and by April 1st 2018 we had become the fourth school in The Learning For Life Partnership. Before we had signed on the dotted line we began to see the benefits. I was supported through some HR issues and shortly after joining we had confirmation that our CIF bid (application completed by a company commissioned by the trust) for Astro turfing our field had been agreed.
Over the next 6 months the collaboration between the schools grew. I felt like I had joined a new family and staff began to share best practice. Even though Ofsted thought our school wasn’t great, the trust could see all the strengths we had and in January 2019 I became the Director of Primary. I could follow my ambition to support more than just my own school. This offered career development for the staff too and my amazing deputy became Head of School.
Cross site collaboration continued with trust INSET days, coordinator groups and joint sports competitions. Leadership opportunities enabled staff to develop through secondments and delivering CPD. We continued to look at alignment and just as we were beginning to look strategically at school improvement priorities and raising standards, C19 hit.
This virus from nowhere turned our world upside down but this is where being in a strong trust really came into its own. Where the local authority were slow to give guidance and the government were quick to throw page after page of ambiguous guidance at us, the calm, measured decisions made at trust level in consultation with all the heads were welcomed. The CEO wrote letters to parents from himself to shield the heads on the frontline and led with compassion throughout. As I watched colleagues almost go under with the stress of feeling so alone, I felt supported, empowered and this made operational decision making so much easier.
This is not a pro academy blog, simply my experience. I have seen real collaboration from all sectors through this crisis and a truly moral approach. This needs to be something that is built on as we move into a new normal.
Thank you to Dan Thomas, Liam Lewis, Simon Kidwell and all at The Learning For Life Partnership for keeping me sane!
Chilled Head Teacher 